Saturday, February 26, 2011

WCG 2011 without Blizzard games??

Probably yes. The main sponsor- Samsung Electronics has reservations to the participation one of the most popular multiplayer RTS (Starcraft: Brood War, Warcraft III: Frozen Throne and Starcarft II: Wings of Liberty). Why? The Korean tech giant, which is also a KeSPA (Korean e-sport Players Association) member and owner of the pro-BW team Samsung Khan is in constant conflict with Blizzard. Futhermore, OnGameNet, the WCG broadcaster in Korea, is currently involved in a lawsuit with Blizzard concerning intelectual property rights. This could mean that as a result, even if the game will be officially introduced, we can not see any live broadcasts. One of the solution these problems is , that Korean players are not to compete in those games , that is, as usual, players will be most affected. Given the place of tournament play (Pusan, South Korea) and the huge number of fans of those few platforms would be certainly a huge blow also to the organizers of the competition.

We haven't any official statement by the World Cyber Games but one is probably soon to be issued.

In my opinion , the players should have more an influence on the list of games on this event, because they decide about popularity of this games and we must remember ,that this event is for players , not for the sponsors ,producers and others company.

It doesn't seem like a very intelligent move on Samsung's part to stick up for KeSPA when they have been illegally hosting Brood War tournaments without paying royalties to Blizzard. Not having Blizzard games at the WCG would be retarded. The only competitive game would be Counter-Strike. That would make no sense. I really hope this is just a way to initiate a compromise from Blizzard.